Next start for Tigers' Justin Verlander is Saturday, which likely rules him out of All-Star game

AP PhotoJustin Verlander is 4-0 with a 1.06 ERA in four starts in June.

LOS ANGELES -- Justin Verlander appears to be the favorite to be named the starting pitcher for the American League in the All-Star game.

But if the current schedule holds, it appears Verlander will not be eligible to play in the game at all.

Major League Baseball added a rule last season that said pitchers who start games the final day before the All-Star break are not eligible to pitch in the game. Any pitcher who starts that game is honored as an All-Star but is replaced on the roster.

The Tigers have an off-day Thursday, so Tigers manager Jim Leyland could have bumped Verlander up a day and had him pitch Friday on his normal amount of rest. If Verlander started Friday, his final scheduled start before the break would fall on July 9, which would have allowed him to pitch in the All-Star game July 12 in Phoenix.

But Leyland said Monday that he was sticking with his normal rotation, which means Phil Coke will start Friday against Arizona with Verlander taking the mound Saturday.

"With the day off, that's his regular time to pitch," Leyland said. "Yes. That would be correct."

Of course, a lot can change between now and July 12, but Thursday is the only off-day for the Tigers between now and then.

Verlander has been named to the AL All-Star team three times (2007, 2009, 2010) but has never been named the starter. He is 9-3 with a 2.54 ERA this season and threw the second no-hitter of his career in May at Toronto.

Verlander shares honorVerlander and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields were named American League Co-Players of the Week.

Verlander threw a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win Tuesday against Cleveland, then followed that up with a complete-game four-hitter Sunday in a 9-1 victory over Colorado. He struck out 17 and walked one in those starts.

Verlander is 4-0 with a 1.06 ERA in four starts in June. He has struck out 34 and walked three in 34 innings this month.

It is the second time this season Verlander has received Player of the Week honors.Odds & endsVerlander allowed one run or fewer and four hits or fewer while throwing complete games in each of his two most recent starts. ... Verlander and Jack Morris (July 1986) are the only two Tigers pitchers to accomplish that feat in the past 33 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Brennan Boesch was not in the starting lineup Monday night with the Dodgers starting left-hander Clayton Kershaw. Leyland said Boesch, who is from Santa Monica, would start the remaining two games against the Dodgers. ... Leyland said he has known Jack McKeon, who was named interim manager of the Florida Marlins on Monday at age 80, for a long time and even managed against him in the minor leagues. Leyland said the hiring of McKeon is "a great move" for the Marlins.